Shoe shine kit



Jam 15 1953 F. L. SMITH 3,072,949

SHOE SHINE KIT Filed Feb. 24, 1961 ,-/llIllllIllll/A INVENToR. yFRE@ L. SM|TH FIG.4.

United States Patenti() 3,072,949 SHOE SHINE KIT Fred L. Smith, 2622 Overland Ave., Los Angeles 64, Calif.

Filed Feb. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 91,472

4 Claims. (Cl. 15-265) This invention relates generally to shoe shine equipment, and more particularly to an improved portable shoe shine kit for use by an individual.

For a person to shine his own shoes, particularly when traveling, has always been somewhat of a problem. In the absence of a secure shoe tree, the most convenient means for shining the shoes is for the person to wear the shoes and support each foot successively in a convenient position for application of polish and subsequent shining operations. Generally, the arm of a chair or some other support is most convenient so that downward movement of the hands and arms on either side of the shoe may be eifected when shining the shoes with a shine rag.

Many structures have been proposed heretofore to facilitate shining of shoes which overcome some of the above problems. More particularly, there have been provided stationary foot rest supports upon which the user may easily place his shoe for shining. In addition, there have been provided vshoe tree type structures adaptable to be mounted to a wall bracket which will actually hold the shoe in a convenient position for shining. However, these prior art structures do not solve the problem of the traveling man wherein the carrying about of a foot -rest member would not only be inconvenient but would be relatively conspicuous. The accommodation of presently available equipment in the users suitcase is possible, but this solution results in inconvenience and possible soiling of other garments by the shoe shine equipment itself.

With all of the above in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved portable shoe shine kit in which a desirably designed shoe rest member is concealable within the kit so that the actual use for the kit is not evident from its external appearance.

More particularly, it is an object to provide an improved shoe shine kit which yields all of the advantages of a permanent foot rest type member for supporting the users foot and shoe to facilitate shining and lyet which may be separated by a single motion and the shoe rest concealed within the kit. The kit also includes room for polish and the like so that structural portions of the kit itself constitutes its own carrying case, with the advantage that excess space in a users other luggage is not required.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing a kit in the form of an attractively designed box having a single access means preferably in a front wall. Within the box -there is provided a foot rest member which may be readily removed from the box and positioned within a suitable recess on top of the box. rl`he box itself thus supports the foot rest member in an elevated position to facilitate shining of shoes. When the operation is completed, the foot rest member may be removed from the recess and stored within the box. The interior of the box may also include suitable shining equipment such as polish, brushes, rags, and the like.

The recess within `the top of the box also serves to accommodate a simple carrying handle which is normally collapsed or depressed within the top structure but may be readily retracted or pulled therefrom in a convenient position for carrying the kit.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by now referring to a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the shoe shine kit 3,072,949 Patented Jan. 15, 1963 rice in closed position ready for simple transportation or storage; p

FIGURE 2 shows the kit opened with the foot rest member in position;

FIGURE 3 is an enlargedfragmentary cross section ltaken in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of FIGURE l; and,

FIGURE 4 is another enlarged fragmentary cross section taken in the direction of the arrows 4-4 of FIG- URE 2.

Referring first to FIGURE l, the kit comprises a box having a top 10, left/ and right side walls 11 and 12, and a bottomor floor 13. The enclosure is completed by a front wall 14 and a rear wall 15 of identicaloutline and arranged to be secured to opposite marginal edges by lsimple spot welding -as illustrated, for example, at 16.

For economy of manufacture, the top, left, right, and bottom walls may be formed from a single integral strip of metal bent at right angles at four locations so that the opposite ends thereof may be slightly overlapped and spot weldedtogether as indicated at'13 in FIGURE 2.

The front wall 14 includes access means comprising a simple door 17 hinged at its lower end 18. A latch knob 19 is provided for opening and closing the door.

As shown, the top portion of the box includes a recess 20 accommodating a handle 21. 'I'hisrrecess alsoincludes a front slot 22, the purpose for which willbecome clearer as the description proceeds. in. Q;

Referring now to FIGURE 2, when the box `doorl-i17 is open, a simple foot rest member may be removed from the interior and positioned within the top recess 20 as shown at 23. The member 23 includes a front downwardly depending support 24 and a rear downwardly depending support 25. The handle 21 is normally in collapsed position when the box is not being carried and thus will not interfere with the position of the foot rest member 23.

With respect to the handle structure, reference is had to-the detailed cross section of FIGURE 3 wherein it will be noted -that the recess is provided with a pair of slots 26 and 27 arranged to receive parallel downwardly depending handle side members 28 and 29, respectively. The extreme ends of the side members terminate in lateral means 30 and 31 which will engage the underside areas adjacent to the slots when the handle is retracted or pulled upwardly as indicated by the dotted lines. It will be noted that when the handle is collapsed, its top is below the plane of the top surface of the kit.

In FIGURE 3, there is also shown on the underside of the top 10 adjacent to the front of the recess, a strap 32 defining a channel with the underside portion of the top 10, the entrance of which is defined by the slot 22.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the manner in which the foot rest member 23 is secured in place will be evident. As shown, the front downwardly depending support 24 terminates in a laterally forwardly extending tongue 33 which is received within the channel defined by the strap 32, the front being passed directly through the slot 22. This support is all that is needed for the support 23, since the weight of the users foot is generally downwardly and forwardly. The rear support member 25 thus need only rest on the rear area of the recess as shown in FIGURE 4.

In operation, whenever a user wishes to shine his shoes, he simply opens the door 17, removes the foot rest member 23, initially inserts the front tongue 33 within the channel defined by the strap 32 and slot 22 and lets the rear portion of the foot rest member 23 drop into the rear area of the recess. Other equipment (not shown) for actually shining the shoes may be stored within the interior of the box.

'and mounted in said recess in ing shoes.

, 3 After the user has linished, it is a simple matter to first lift the rear portion of the foot rest member 23 `to disengage the rear support 25 from the rear area of the recess and then pull out the front tongue 33. The foot rest member is tlien stored in the interior of the box .and the cover 17 closed. To carry the box, the user need only grasp the handle 21 and pull upwardly until it assumes the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 3.

y While only one particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it should be understood that various changes falling clearly within the spirit and scope of this invention as set forth in the claims will occur to those skilled in the art. The shoe shine kit is therefore not to be thought ofy as limited to the exact construction shown merely for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe shine kit comprising: a box having an access means to the interior thereof; and a foot rest member adapted to be stored in said interior, the top exterior of said box having a recessed portion for receiving and supporting said foot rest member, said recessed portion including a front slot, the interior underside of said ,top adjacent to said slot having a strap element secured thereto to define a channel therewith, the entrance of vsaid channel being defined by said slot; said vfoot rest member including a downwardly extending front support `terminating in a forwardly extending tongue structure receivable in said channel, the rear of said foot rest member including a downwardly extending rear support for resting on the rear area of said recessed portion, whereby said foot rest member may be removed from said box proper position for shin- 2. A kit according to claim l, in which said recessed portion additionally includes a pair of spaced slots; and a carrying handle having parallel side members extending downwardly and receivable in said slots, the lower ends of said side members extending into the interior of said box and terminating in lateral engaging means, whereby said handle may be pulled upwardly from a collapsed position until said engaging means engage the underside areas of said top adjacent said pair of slots respectively to hold said handle to said box when carrying said boX.

3. A kit according to claim 2, in which the top of said handle in its collapsed position, lies within the recess provided by said recessed portion so that it is below the plane of the top of said box.

4. A shoe shine kit comprising, in combination: a box having an access means to the interior thereof; and a foot rest member adapted to be stored in said interior, the top exterior of said box and the under portion of said foot res-t member including inter-engageable means in the form of a tongue and slot structure for receiving said tongue, whereby said foot rest member may be removed frorn said box and mounted on said top exterior of said box by said inter-engageable means in proper position for shining shoes.

References Cited in the tile `of Ythis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 213,533 Shipman Mar. 25, 1879 

4. A SHOE SHINE KIT COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A BOX HAVING AN ACCESS MEANS TO THE INTERIOR THEREOF; AND A FOOT REST MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE STORED IN SAID INTERIOR, THE TOP EXTERIOR OF SAID BOX AND THE UNDER PORTION OF SAID FOOT REST MEMBER INCLUDING INTER-ENGAGEABLE MEANS IN THE FORM OF A TONGUE AND SLOT STRUCTURE FOR RECEIVING SAID TONGUE, WHEREBY SAID FOOT REST MEMBER MAY BE REMOVED FROM SAID BOX AND MOUNTED ON SAID TOP EXTERIOR OF SAID BOX BY SAID INTER-ENGAGEABLE MEANS IN PROPER POSITION FOR SHINING SHOES. 